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Lou star Allison Janney wants to kick ass in a John Wick movie: 'Yes, please!'
Allison Janney is a hugely talented, award-winning actress whose many credits include The West Wing, Juno, and Mom. But it is fair to say that she has not really proven her abilities as an action star, until now.
In the just-released thriller Lou, Janney plays the title character, a loner who agrees to help her tenant, Hannah (Jurnee Smollett), after the latter's child is abducted.
"Without giving it away, [I play] an enigmatic older woman who lives on the San Juan Islands and rents a trailer on the property to a single mom," says Janney. "Everyone kind of gives Lou a wide berth. She's not very personable. She's got a sense of humor, but she's a woman of few words, and I think she's kind of a scary figure in town."
Liane Hentscher/Netflix; Niko Tavernise/Lionsgate Allison Janney in Lou and Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 3
What comes as a surprise to both Hannah and the viewing audience is that Lou turns out to have a very special set of skills, and is soon beating up the film's villains with the deftness that her West Wing press secretary fielded questions from White House correspondents.
"My whole career, I've always wanted to do things that are different," says Janney. "I've always been very physical. Growing up, I did ice skating, ballet, and I love physical comedies, but I've never done physical combat. I've always loved the fight scene between Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah in Kill Bill. It's one of my favorite things. I said, 'Oh, God, I want to do something like that.'"
To get ready for the shoot and the film's fight sequences, Janney trained with actor and martial artist Daniel Bernhardt, whose credits include The Matrix Reloaded and HBO's Barry.
"I worked with him for three hours a day, mostly stretching and working out, and then learning the hand-to-hand combat and learning how to fight, just getting me in physical shape to do the moves that we need to do," says Janney. "My ballet training came in very handy for this, because of the kicking and high-kicking. It was fun, but working out that much for me, when I thought about it, I was like, Oh, my God, maybe I can't do this. This is not me. I work out maybe two or three times a week for an hour. And he said three hours. I was like, What? I can't work out for three hours! What are you talking about? The time would fly by, though, because we'd break it up. The other stunt guys would be working out with us, and then we'd practice the moves, you're learning how to do a fake punch, and how to take a fake punch, and all that stuff, which was super-interesting to me."
In the end, Janney was able to perform much of the combat herself.
"I had a stunt double who took the hard hits, you know, when she gets thrown against the wall," says the actress. "But most of the fighting I was happy to do, and was so excited to do it."
Smollett was impressed by what her costar brought to the table — or the dirt, given that director Anna Foerster shot most of Lou outside.
"I'm always so excited when actors are willing to step outside their comfort zone," Smollett says. "I absolutely knew [Janney] would kill it, because she, first and foremost, is a fantastic actress, and the fact that she was willing to do things that she had never done before was exciting to me."
Has this whetted Janney's appetite for more action? Would she like to show off her newly-acquired fighting abilities in a John Wick movie, for example?
"Yes, please!" says the actress. "I hope people will see me in this and go: I didn't know Janney could do that. Let's put her in John Wick. Let's put her in the new Bourne. [Laughs] You know, that just excites the hell out of me. I'd love to do more. And as a woman in her early sixties, bring it. I love that it empowers women over sixty. I'm still here. I'm still vital. I can kick ass. I can do a lot of things you haven't seen me do yet. So bring it. I like to be a bad ass."
Lou is now streaming on Netflix. See the film's trailer above.
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